Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms



l paring to reload.

k UNITED STATES PATENTY EEICE.

CHANCEY D. SKINNER, OF HADDAM, AND DENNISy TRYON, OF MIDDLFJTOVN,

CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 18,472, dated October20, 1357'.

.To LLZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that we, CHAUNCEY D. SKIN- NER, of Haddam, in the county ofMiddlesex, and DENNIs TRYCN, of Middletown ,in the county ofMiddlesex,and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Breech-Loading Fire-Arms; and we do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal central section ofthe breech and chamber, the lock, and part of the stock and barrel of agun having our improvements applied, representing it in a condition forfiring. Fig. 2 is a similar section, but representing it in a conditionto receive a new charge. Fig. 3 is a side view of the same in thecondition after ring and before pre- Fig. et is a top view ofthe same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.'

This invention relates to that description of breech-loading fire-armsin which the whole chamber is made movable both in a direction parallelwith the bore of the barrel, and also upwardly on an axis arrangedtransversely to the bore, for the purposes of disconnecting it from thebarrel, and of bringing its mouth above the barrel to a convenientposition to receive the charge.

This invention consists in a novel combination of means for bringing upand securing the chamber in close connection with and liberating it fromthe barrel and guiding the same.

It also consists in certain means of preventing the possibility of thefall of the hammer and consequent discharge of the weapon while thechamber is raised up and out of line with the barrel.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention,wewill proceed to dcscribe its construction and operation.

A is the stock.

B is a metal frame secured to the stock and containing a parallel-sidedopening to receive the square block of metal, G, in which is bored thechamber c, and whose rear portion constitutes the breech, and containsthe whole of the lock with the exception of the trigger. The frame B issecured to the stock by screws passing through two straps of metal,J J,which are made separate from the said frame and screwed to it.

D is the barrel, screwing into the front of the frame B, and finished atits rear end with a conical or valve-like face, c c, corresponding witha seat, c c, made round the front of the chamber a..

D' is the pin constituting the axis on which the chambered breech-pieceC swings up for the purpose of exposing its mouth to receive the charge,said pin being inserted tightly through the sides of the frame B, butpassing through a short slot, b, in the chambered breech-piece, whichpermits the said piece to move longitudinally to a limited extent, aswell as swing.

d is a spring tted into the back of the slot b to bear against the backof the pin Din such c a manner as to exert a tendency to draw back thechambered breech-piece in the frame B.

F is a screw working in a stationary nut, G, secured in the back of theframe B, said screw being furnished with a handle, H, by which to turnit to screw up the chainbered breechpiece C to the barrel, or to allowthe said piece D to. come back clear of the barrel.

j' is a lipped projection on a plate, E,which lines the stock at thebottom ofthe interior of the frame B, and g is another lipped projection on the bottom of the chambered breechpiece. These two lippedprojections f and g are so formed and arranged that when the chamberedbreech-piece is drawn back from the barrel a trifle farther than isnecessary for the front of the chamber to clear the rear of the barrelthe lips. of the said projections will clear each other and allow thefront end of the chambered breech-piece C to swing up, but that when thesaid piece C is pushed down into its frame B so far that its projectiong rests on the plate E, and afterward moved for- .ward by the screw F,the edge of the lip g will pass under the edge of the lip f before thefront of the chamber arrives quite as far forward as the end of thevalve-like face c c of the barrel, and thus prevent the rising of thepiece C, and the projection f and plate E then serve as guides to theprojection g, and cause the seat c c in the chamber to be guidedstraight toward the valve-like face c c, so that the sur` faces of thevalve and seat may come in contact with each other without abrasion oneither side, and their wearing out of truth, which would be productiveof leakage,is thereby prev ented.

I is a spring secured to the plate E and serving to throw up the chamberto the position shown in Fig. 2, ready for loading either with acartridge or with loose powder and ball, as soon as the screw F has beendrawn back far enough for the lips of the projections g and f to cleareach other. The screw F merely bears against the rear end ofthechambered breechpiece C; but as it-is turned back the spring d in theslot b, by its pressure between the back of the pin D and the back ofthe slot b, draws back the said piece C till the lips of f and g willclear each other, and then` the spring I throws up the front end of thepiece C. The lipped projections f g serve to prevent abrasion of thevalve c and seat e when the chambered breechpiece is moving back as wellas when moving forward. Vhen the chamber has been loaded ,it requires tobe pressed down before the screw is turned to drive it forward. Thispressing down can be effected conveniently by the thumb of the left handwhile the gun is held in the two hands, with the thumb of the right handupon the screw-handle H, ready to turn the screw.

The screwF may be single, double, or ltriple threaded. It is desirablethat the said screw should be moved just as far as but no farther thanis necessary to effect the necessary movement of the chambered breech-piece, and hence we make the thread of such a pitch and so form thestock in rear of the frame B that thehandle II comes down on the stockon either side of the screw, and is thereby stopped at either end of themovement of the screw. It is also desirable that the screw shall forcelthe chambered breech-piece close up to the barrel without any jammingor straining of the screw,

'j and this is effected by causing the handle to be stopped by comingdown` on the right-hand side of the stock, as is shown in Figs. 3 and 4,when the piece O is forced far enough up; but so as to insure the pieceC coming tight up when the movement of the screw is stopped, some nicetyof adjustment of the screw' is necessary. XVe fit vthe screw to the nutG instead of into the solid metal of the frame B, and fit the nut to theframe B so as to be capable of turning therein for the purpose ofadjusting the screw to move the piece C more or less forward, and employa set-screw, h, at the bottom of the frame,(see Figs. l and 2,) tosecure the said nut when adjusted. 'Ihe nut is made conical, andarranged with the largest end in front, or with a conical shoulder toprevent it being forced from its place by the action of the screw, whichis thus caused to yassist the set-'screw h in holding it tight.l Theadjustment of the nut G serves also to compensate for yany wear of thevalve c and seat c. The handle H of the screw is protected in eitherposition of thebreech-piece by means of one of two guards, 7c c-oneupon. each of the strap-pieces J J. K is the hammer working on apin, i,in a slot made in the back part of the chambered breech-piece C, in the`lower part of which there is a cavity which contains the other parts ofthe lock.

Lis the mainspring, connected with the tumbler of the hammer by astirrup, j.

M is the sear, working on a pin, Z, on the lower part of the piece O. mis the sear-spring, attached to the bottom of C.

N is the trigger, working on a pin, a, inserted through lugs on theguard-plate O. The trigger and sear are peculiarly formed to enable theformer to be operated upon by the latter when thev hammer is cocked,while the chambered breech-piece C is forced up into connection with thebarrel, as shown in Fig. l, but inoperative when the said piece C israised, as shown in Fig. 2. These peculiarities of form are fullyillustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and are as follows: The sear has its heelmore turned down than usual, and broaderat the bottom, which is madeslightly concave, and with a blunt edge or tooth, o, atthe extremity.The trigger is madewith a blunt tooth, p, at its rear extremity, and aconcavity on the top between this tooth andthe center of motion n. Vhenthe chambered breech-piece C is in connection with the barrel, as shownin Fig. 1, the tooth p of the trigger is situated under the heel of thesear, and when the trigger is pulled its tooth p moves freely along thebottom of the heel of the sear and moves it upward and backward, thusthrowing down the point of the sear away from the tumbler, so that thehammer, if at full-cock, will be set free; but if the trigger should beat full-cock, as shownin red outline in Fig. 2, when the chamberedbreechpiece is raised the heel of the sear will be entirely in front ofthe tooth p of the trigger, and any pull on the trigger will cause thetooth p to prevent the moving of the heel of the sear in abackwarddirection, and rather tends to push it forward, and thus hold the pointof the sear secure against the tumbler.

To provide for the proper adjustment of the sear and trigger, the heelof the sear is made in a separate piece, and attached to the partK aboveby a mortise and tenon, and secured by a screw, o, passing through aslot in the tenen, the said slot, which is shown in dotted lines in Fig.2, allowing the heel to be moved a little backward or forward when thescrew o is slackened. y

Ve do not claim the use of a ch ainbered breech-piece fitted with a slotto slide and swing upon a stationary pin, nor the employ-- ment ofsprings b and I to pull back and raise up such breech-piece; but Y Vhatwe do claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. The employment, in combination with the chambered breech-pieceoperating and controlled by springs and by a screw, as described, of thelipped projections f and g, breech-piece is raised the said tooth orpoint formed, applied, and operating substantially p is brought behindthe said heel, so that in as set forth7 to prevent abrasion of the jointthe former case the trigger is operative and between the barrel andchamber by the act of in the latter can have nov other effect than toopening and closing the chamber. lock the scar7 as herein set forth,

2. Constructing` and applying the hammer T T' p and Sear in the mannerherein described, SITJIQDEYSKHLER whereby when the chaniberedbreech-piece is l in connection with the barrel the tooth or actXVitnesses: ing-pointp of the trigger is brought under the VALTER HALL,heel of the scar, but when the chainbered JONATHAN BARNEs.

